Chul Hyun Ahn‘s career in art started as a graduate of Chugye University for the Arts located in Seoul. He graduated as a bachelor of fine arts, and later moved on to study his masters degree at the. Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore) 2002. This peculiar sculptor does not use the traditional stylings of classical sculptors, but rather employs a new media that takes viewers by surprise; light energy.

His first exhibition was with C. Grimaldis Gallery. It featured six of his light sculptures and was a ground breaking event in Ahn’s young life at the time. He eventually became a member of a group of light artists that included Olafur Eliasson with Leo Villareal, and Ivan Navarro. Ahn frequented the theme of infinity and zen, creating pieces that reflected on the meditation of these thoughts. People have called his pioneering works as marvels that serve as portholes into another world of chiaroscuro. He institutes the principles of illusional optics and mindplay with several of his more recent works. Ahn’s evolution in the field of light art is a proud step for the artist circles of Korea in the global eye.

As we’ve gotten more and more involved with abstract creations lately, let me show you a sculpture that attunes to a more primal form. Here we have a piece made by the Israeli sculptor Ezra Orion. Don’t let the fantasy-like name fool you, this is one talented artist when it comes to sculptures like this 1966 iron artwork. Resembling the silhouette of an steel beam, Orion’s creation subtly plays with the field of geometry within the piece’s lined interior. Reflecting a vertical boldness and a sense of finality, the piece is indeed a “launching pad for the mind” as described by Orion himself in the past. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London and the Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, Orion’s geologic pieces stand tall as a premier example of art that expresses itself in the most basic, yet relational expressions.

Orion‘s piece was a resident of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and remained one of its aesthetic collection pieces for a long time. When dealing with geometrically inclined subjects, there are times when the mind simply wanders too near the actual contour of the original model, however the challenge is creating that subtle difference in the shape, color texture or other element involved with the artform. Orion’s strong pieces reflect as a basal and concrete idea by which an audience can begin to imagine as something personally interpretable (as anything). The advantages of a basic form allows for the wandering of the mind. On one side, the disadvantage of being too close to the original subject, and on the other the benefit of having a limitless number of possibilities to expound. As the year draws to a close, we hope artists and sculptors out there have gotten a new grip on what it means to create art. The aesthetic community is changing, and so are many of its players.

Alan Thornhill is a British sculptor who devised his own way of clay-working his sculptural artworks. He creates their composition initially our of course clay parts in a somewhat random selection and does not use the traditional guidance of a wire armature (as do most sculptors). The clay parts are either kiln fired as a whole or cut up and fired individually before re-assembly.

Born in 1921, Thornhill developed his artistic interest from a base knowledge of pottery to a spontaneous development of sculpture. His raw method of sculpting gave room to improvisation. On the other hand his interest in sculpted portraiture challenges the notions of standard and normality. Before his journey into art, Thornhill did several things in his life, including service in the army, and studying up to be a modern historian. In the late 1940’s however, he was accepted into the Camberwood School of Art and studied pottery under Nora Braden. Eventually Thornhill became somewhat frustrated at the repetition involved with creating pottery works. His random nature gave way to the evolution of his interest and he moved to London in 1959 to create his own sculpture studio.

Sculpture by Alan Thornhill, Photography by Magnus Manske

His sculpture; “The Bond” was purchased by the Jerwood Foundation and stands today at Ragley Hall. His daughter; Anna Thornill had also created a 40 minute documentary on him and released it in 2008. The biographical film was entitled “Spirit In Mass : Journey Into Sculpture” and had won an award from Screen South and the UK Film Council.